Inishbofin skulls begin long journey home after being stolen in 1890

Thirteen skulls stolen from a churchyard on Inishbofin Island are on their way back home after more than130 years.

In 1890, the skulls were taken from a graveyard attached to the medieval St Colman’s Church on the island by Trinity’s Old Anatomy Museum academic Prof Alfred C Haddon and external researcher Andrew F Dixon.

The skulls, whose identities are unknown, date from the 17th and 18th century.

In a letter, Prof Haddon openly admitted smuggling them off the island and depositing them in Trinity College Dublin.

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Until this week, the remains were stored in the college. The context for this was a contemporary interest in fields including craniometry (measurement of the cranium) and anthropometry (scientific measurement of individuals).

Trinity College’s board approved the repatriation of the remains following work done by the Trinity Legacies Review Working Group, which is in the process of examining many aspects of the university’s past.

[ Trinity College Dublin to return skulls to Inishbofin and apologise for 19th-century removal ]

The practice of taking body parts was common in the 18th and 19th century. Trinity College Dublin holds more than 484 human remains sourced from various parts of the globe.

On Wednesday the remains were packed into a specially made coffin with separate compartments for each of the skulls.

A ceremony was then held in Trinity’s front chapel before a hearse started out on its long journey to Inishbofin Island, which is 12km off the coast of Co Galway.

It has been a long journey both literally and metaphorically, said Marie Coyne of the Inishbofin heritage museum who has led the campaign by locals to have the remains repatriated.

They will be buried in St Colman’s graveyard in a traditional island coffin after 1pm Mass on Sunday.

“It’s a relief for us. We are in charge of them now. They are back in our hands,” Ms Coyne said. “We are looking forward to having them back where they belong.”